A computer network is a collection of interconnected computing devices that can exchange data and share resources. The interconnected computing devices may execute myriad different services and communication protocols, including, for example, an Ethernet communications protocol. Ethernet encompasses a family of frame-based computer network technologies that may be used by enterprise-level local area networks (LANs) as well as carrier-class networks and service providers.
A computer network that implements a Layer Two (L2) protocol such as an Ethernet communications protocol may be managed by a service provider that must meet performance parameters set forth in a service level agreement (SLA) that binds the service provider to provide performance guarantees to its customers. Accordingly, the service provider may manage one or more “maintenance points” within an Ethernet-based network, which are network devices that use a set of Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) functions to monitor operation of Ethernet service in the network in order to detect network faults and measure network performance. Service providers may also implement the OAM functions to measure SLA parameters between maintenance points of their Ethernet-based networks. For example, the OAM functionality may be used to track quality of service (QoS) attributes such as availability, frame delay, delay variation (“jitter”), and frame loss on the Ethernet-based network.